mobile billing

Take a Journey with Mobile Billing – EE BT event, supported by aimm

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

On the 23rd March EE/BT, supported by aimm, hosted the  ‘Take a Journey with Mobile Billing’ event at the BT Tower.

The aim of the event was to provide an introduction to Charge to Bill, as an additional payment method for the transport and parking sector.  The event demonstrated how – by giving a wider choice of payment options to their customers – the transport sector could reach those that may not wish to or are able to buy transport tickets the traditional ways.

Naomi Hone, Charge to Bill Manager at EE/BT said: ‘there are 72 million mobile phones in the UK, and carrier billing is already automatically enabled on most of them. This essentially means that the majority of people are walking around with a ticketing vending machine in their pocket!’

With speakers from aimm, EE, Kaleyra and Plusdial, as well as a panel featuring Fonix and DMB, answering questions  from the audience, it was a great opportunity to start the conversation around the opportunities that mobile billing can provide the transport industry.

Noor Play make paying in the Middle East easy with SLA Digital’s Carrier Billing Solutions

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Video-on-demand streaming service Noor Play has connected with SLA Digital to offer Zain Kuwait customers easy access to multi-platform content through simple carrier billing payments.

Noor Play is a subscription service that offers a wide variety of TV shows, movies and more with ad-free content carefully picked and edited to suit all members of the family. With SLA Digital’s help Noor Play are expanding their reach in the Middle East by offering accessible-to-all payments via customers’ mobile phone bills or prepaid credit.

Ahmad Al-Qarawi, CEO at Noor Play commented: “Carrier billing is ideal for customers in the Middle East as it is a very accessible way to pay in this market. We want our subscribers to have a seamless viewing experience so it is important to make payments as convenient as possible – by partnering with SLA Digital we have been able to achieve just that.”

Kevin Drayne, CEO at SLA Digital said: “Noor Play is a fantastic entertainment service and we can see it being hugely popular with customers of Zain Kuwait, not to mention our other mobile operator clients. Expanding our partnerships with digital merchants and bringing new services on board is a key focus for us and we are delighted to connect with Noor Play to offer them opportunities to acquire more customers through carrier billing.”

Mobile operators interested in discussing opportunities to connect with Noor Play through carrier billing should contact the team at SLA Digital directly.

Direct Carrier Billing Index reveals the most favourable countries for DCB growth in the MEA region

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

The first DCB Index developed by Evina and Telecoming is released today

  • Bahrain, Egypt, and Qatar are the most attractive markets for DCB, leading the index
  • The innovative tool measures the maturity of this mobile payment method in 18 countries
  • The development of the DCB Index is one of the commitments established in the alliance signed earlier this year by both companies

Analysts from Evina, experts in DCB protection, and Telecoming, experts in DCB implementation, have developed the first Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Index. This rating aims to provide market players with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the DCB business and its overall potential.

Bahrain, Egypt, and Qatar lead the list according to the results of the first DCB Index created to measure the development of this market in MEA. The innovative tool[1] uses 4 KPIs focused on Fraud Protection, Mobile Payments Innovation, DCB Penetration levels, and DCB Growth Potential.

As a result, the DCB Index establishes a ranking based on the score achieved by each country. It is presented on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 as the lowest indicator and 5 being the most advanced pointer.

Download the full DCB Index here: https://www.evina.com/resources/dcb-index-evina-telecoming/

According to the analysis, Bahrain (3,7) stands out for its extensive DCB protection against fraud. The country shows full support for DCB, seeing that all local mobile operators have implemented this payment technology, yet innovation remains a weak point to develop.

Local mobile operators and merchants are working together to promote DCB as an effective payment method in Egypt (3,3). It’s a true breeding ground for the development of DCB, and efforts must continue to strengthen DCB protection to realize its full potential. Forward-thinking MNOs have enabled in-app purchases in Qatar (3,2). Its overall innovative approach to mobile payments, such as paying employees via mobile money, demonstrates the country’s predisposition to implement new uses of DCB.

According to the index, mobile payment partnerships centred around DCB are growing in Kenya, while Morocco shows ample room for growth in DCB Innovation.

South Africa has a high DCB uptake but has had to deal with fraudulent mobile payment attempts. Hence, increased protection is vital for the sustainable development of DCB as an easy and reliable payment method in the region.

According to Roberto Monge, COO of Telecoming, “DCB has been gaining presence in the region’s digital economy. This innovative indicator shows that many countries are on the right track. Technology is already in place, but there are still some challenges to face. All the payments tech industry players need to work together to develop a new, reliable, secure and stable mobile economy that benefits the whole market “, says Monge.

David Lotfi, Founder & CEO of Evina, states, “the DCB Index indicates that fraud on DCB remains as a top barrier to countries maximizing the potential of direct carrier billing.” Lotfi adds, “these findings strongly suggest that anti-fraud measures need to be more extensively and consistently implemented so that DCB becomes not only a widely used effortless payment method but a source of greater revenue for mobile players.”

 

[1] The figures provided are algorithmic-based estimations calculated from Evina sensors and Telecoming intelligence data. The DCB Index is intended for information purposes only.

 

mGage and Oxfam successfully launch world-first RCS mobile payment campaign

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

In an exciting milestone for the charities sector, mGage, in partnership with Oxfam GB, has deployed its next-generation Rich Communication Services (RCS) mobile payment solution, to encourage more donations and higher levels of engagement.

At a time when charities are struggling amidst the pandemic, this world-first campaign is supporting Oxfam with its vital work worldwide, fighting poverty and assisting victims of humanitarian crises. With positive results when compared to a standard Premium SMS send , this channel is proving to be more popular than traditional card payments, offering a unique opportunity for charities to boost revenue, whilst deepening the relationship with supporters.

“With a simplified payment flow, a donation amount can be selected at the click of a button and added to the mobile bill, providing a truly seamless experience. This solution really is a gamechanger, especially at a time when so many charities need our support,” said Nick Millward, Vice President Europe at mGage. “RCS payments provide the ultimate convenience and an appealing experience for customers, who increasingly want organisations to contact them via mobile messaging. With more than 1.31 billion mobile payment users expected by 2023, it is a service that is soaring in popularity.”

Additionally, the service’s Verified Sender feature offers absolute peace of mind and builds trust between both charities and supporters. Accompanied by branding, users can be assured that a message sent to them is legitimate, protecting against fraud and the reputation of the sender.

“We are engaging with our supporters in a completely new way thanks to this innovative rich messaging channel, which allows for more choice and tailored, flexible content embedded directly into mobile messages,” said Drew Hickling, Supplier Relationship Manager, at Oxfam GB. “Working with mGage we have created an RCS and Mobile Billing flow that provides a simple and seamless experience for our supporters with increased levels of potential engagement.” 

Watch the video interview with Oxfam and mGage on YouTube – “Oxfam GB & mGage Successfully Launch World First RCS & Mobile Payments Campaign“

aimm launches new consumer information site PhoneCharges.org

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Today is a really great day, as we launch our brand new consumer-facing website PhoneCharges.org.

Consumers needed a better way to investigate unknown charges on their phone bill, identify who charged them, and resolve their query as quickly as possible, and this is why PhoneCharges.org was born. In its simplest form, the site will signpost consumers to their own network’s number checker or to the PSA’s service checker to quickly identify who has charged them and obtain their contact details. It also contains basic information around what phone-paid services are, why consumers may have been charged, when refunds may be due etc.

PhoneCharges.org will provide users with links to the relevant pages of their mobile networks’ website or to the Phone-paid Services Authority Number Checker so that they can find out quickly where any charges have come from. Additionally, it will provide easy-to-understand information about how phone-paid services work, why users may have charges on their bill and when a refund may be due. It will also provide topical news stories from within the industry which will help consumers understand the types of services that use charge-to-mobile billing.

The website is funded by aimm and its membership, but has been built free of charge by The Cute Group who have a wealth of experience in handling customer queries in this area.

Andrew Fisher, CEO of The Cute Group said ““When aimm approached The Cute Group with a concept to help consumers navigate the maze that is the phone-billed services industry, we knew immediately it had our name on it. As a leading UK player supporting digital services for brands, publishers and content owners, Cute has rich experience understanding the kinds of queries, frustrations and confusion consumers face – and how to resolve them helpfully, and with as little fuss as possible.  We are excited to partner with aimm to bring PhoneCharges.org to life, building the site itself and contributing our experience to support the project as a whole.”

Joanna Cox, General Manager of aimm said “More often than not, queries about phone-paid services are due to a lack of post-purchase information and consumers end up complaining to the regulator who are unable to resolve specific cases. PhoneCharges.org is there to help consumers get the information they need and solve their queries as quickly as possible.”

We hope this site can help consumers better resolve any issues they have, increase their confidence in phone-paid services and, ultimately, create the conditions for growth in our industry.